I know you've been hankering for some striking, and unusual, rims for a while,
and I must say that you have found them at long last. In my view, nice rims, a bit like shiny shoes, can make or certainly enhance the overall appearance of a car - well, the shoes don't, do they, but you guys would appreciate what I am talking about.

This should give you encouragement, or a new lease of life, after I've had your Red Terror for such a long time with my 6.9 being in hospital. Still is, BTW, but not for much longer. Regards Styria

Very nice indeed Michel! Wheels are a very difficult choice and the range is somewhat limited due to the MB stud pattern. What brand are the tyres & what size? Are they noisy & what's the grip like? Is there some trim missing from around the water channel & rear screen? Looks like you have a different steering wheel; do you have trouble seeing the speedo?

I wish the paint on mine was as good. Your post is making me feel more enthusiastic about getting mine on the road & I'm happy to say have some holidays at the end of the week....

Hi Michel, something worth considering is the fact that those tyres have a rolling diameter 43mm smaller than standard. Effectively your speedo will read higher than actual speed. Even worse they may not comply with your state regs. However she'll be quicker off the mark!!!

I wouldn't consider anything larger than 18s on a W116 as handling may be too harsh, they're easier to damage, the tyre load ratings may be too low and I think the tyre / rim proportion just doesn't look right. But that's just me...

Nice tiller by the way! I wonder if the W126 steering column has adjustable tilt & reach and could be installed into a W116? It might solve the inability to see the speedo (apart from going back to the standard wheel).... But then again leaving it as it is means you don't need to worry about speedo accuracy cause you can't see it anyway!!!

It might be worth mentioning that having undersize tyres fitted might have an effect on your insurance policy...

Hi MICHEL , I love the RED she is jewel with the nice boots and i like the steering wheel but i never heard of the tyres make before , i don't think it exist here in egypt , please if you have more info ,i would love to have it.

Michel it might be a good idea to check the load rating on your tyres, as the the info I have suggests they could be as low as 83. On a 6.9 they should be at least 97. Recently I've seen many tyres split the sidewalls and it's sometimes hard to pick up at a glance. One was on the inner sidewalls only and it'd only be a matter of time before they went bang!!

The 6.9 placard specifies the max load rating of the tyres should be 1610lbs. That equates to 730kg each.

On a basic level, if the car weighed 2420kg (gross) and that's divided by 4 (as it's supported by 4 tyres), that's 605kg each tyre if the cars' fully loaded to it's maximum Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM). However, the manual also provides extra information: the maximum front axle load is 1245kg (divided by the 2 front tyres makes 623kg ea) and the rear is 1175kg (588kg ea). The front is higher than the back probably due to the weight of the engine etc.

The difference between the maximum placard load and the maximum load calculated from the GVM, is the safety margin. Trouble is the standards in Victoria require the placard requirements to be met and even though it's not unsafe (unless the vehicle is overloaded), it still remains a compliance issue and in a collision your insurance may not honour a claim. If your tyres don't comply then I'd be going back to the supplier with your receipt and asking why they supplied tyres that aren't legal. I'm sure they'll make things right if they want to stay in business....

I'd also be wondering what the maximum load capacity of the tyres would be for pressures below what was specified (51PSI). You'd probably be only running on 36PSI (or thereabouts), for ride comfort and as a result the load rating would be way down; perhaps to a point where it could be dangerous?

'Y' relates to a speed rating of 300kmh. The minimum in Victoria (for anything other than a retread), is 'S' which equates to 180kmh, or the vehicle's top speed (whichever is the lesser).

Interesting is the fact that load capacity reduces as the speed increases. On a speed rating of V the capacity drops over 210kmh, W drops over 240kmh and Y drops over 270kmh.